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Blade Runner – A fantastic trip to 2019!

I watched Blade Runner yesterday and re-watched it today to fully understand the end of Ridley Scott‘s SF movie. But I figured out, that a cult masterpiece like this one, deserved more than six projections. (I’m thinking of reading the book that Blade Runner was based on: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and I will.)

Artists always thought of stories, pantings, films taking place in the future. Well today, watching a movie like Blade Runner, or reading a book like 1984, seems too enthusiastic or too dramatic, however it was never too far from the truth. Now that we’re living in 2013, who says that in 6 years, there will not be shops on Earth that will be selling robots? We don’t know that, that’s what captured me on Blade Runner. These characters are representing a near future, it takes only one discovery, to change the whole world (as internet did).

In the movie, the city is fully transformed. Esthetically speaking, the decor in the movie is beautiful; in appearance it is a cosmopolite city, grouping influences from Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles (as it is supposed to take place into), the visual effects offered are delightful and that can’t be denied. But behind those futuristic giants buildings and their big screens, we can find older ones in decrepitude, and a population struggling against a capitalistic government, and economical issues, denounced by the film director. All this is not attractive, this is more a repulsive city, but it’s a mysterious one that could be deeply interesting to visit, and explore. Well, it is obvious that Scott is painting a roughly negative vision of the future, where technology will lead Humans to their death. And this is a great example of dystopia.

It had to remind me of David Cronenberg‘s work, and perhaps of eXistenZ with the same atmosphere, and issue, which is still technology.

The thing about Blade Runner, is that, we get to have ambiguous feelings about the “good and bad” people there. Tyrell Coporation, which is the creator industry of the Replicants (false humans), seemed to be the real bad, as for as they were the ones engendering the robots and in a way, make them suffer. From that sufferance, anger was born. But also, we experienced this need of yelling at the Replicants when they tried and killed humans, and at Rick Deckard (played by a brilliant Harrisson Ford) who is the ultimate Blade Runner, a solitary, always on his own, known to be a Replicants killing machine, for doing what he does.

From this character in particular we can deduce the message against individualization, a concept that will lead humans to a loss of their feelings and emotions, and of the concept of family. Which is interesting paradoxically to Deckard falling for a the most human Replicants: Rachael (Sean Young).

However, the most interesting character, is RoyBatty‘s one. The leader of the Nexus-6 Replicants, the most advanced ones.Despite his high intelligence, and skills, he is still learning how to deal with his emotions, and distinguished them from one another. He saw things, and try to understand his situation. He is the symbol of the new society.

Blade Runner, is one of a hell SF masterpiece, and deserved to be still going in 2019 and beyond.